Was the first time in forever that I pulled out a message on Monday, began the process of rehearsing/internalizing it, realized that I did not like it one bit, and started over almost from scratch. I can hardly tell you how unusual this was. Plus, I was in Atlanta for a Methodist meeting for two days in the middle of the week;

In the revamped version, I used clear plastic “shoe boxes” to demonstrate the ways we compartmentalize our lives;

Made use of a written testimony from a staffer about how are contentment is not connected to our circumstances;

After all that, arrived at a bottom line of If Jesus isn’t Lord of everything, he’s not Lord of anything.

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Matthew 13:44-46

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.read more

It comes from a seminal moment in John Wesley’s personal journal when he recounts a spiritual experience on Aldersgate Street in London in May of 1738:

About a quarter before nine, while [a teacher on the book of Romans] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. read more

This is always been one of my favorite photos, and I brought it back home after my recent Austin trip:

I’m on the right, holding the football and not looking at the camera. To my right (left on the photo) is my best friend at the time, Davie Baird. He was also the youngest child in a large family, and lived down the street. Although he was a year ahead of me in school, we were pretty inseparable from the time I was in Kindergarten through about second grade.read more

Later this week — for a Thursday Staff Seminary and then for a Friday Out & About Luncheon — Good Shepherd is bringing in speaker and author MissyBuchanan.

There are five reasons why I am especially excited about this project. Here they are.

Missy Writes Good. She is a multi-published author, with a series of titles directed towards Christian ministry for and with senior adults. Her books include Talking With God In Old Age, Living With Purpose In A Worn Out Body, and Don’t Write My Obituary Just Yet. You can find more information about her books here.

She Talks Gooder. Missy is a sought after speaker. So we sought after her about a year ago to reserve these dates.

She’s A Texan. We are bringing her in from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

We’re Sharing Ministry With The Aldersgate Retirement Community located on the east side of Charlotte. After she trains our staff on Thursday regarding ministry with seniors, she will zip across town to inspire the residents of that Mega Methodist Retirement Care facility.

It Will Be Yet Another Example Of A Digital Friendship Gaining Dimensions. Meaning, Missy and I have connected via #UMC Facebook over the years and seen much to admire in each other’s work and writing. Now we will get to meet in person. Yet another reason why social media can on occasion be a force for more good than evil.

We ALMOST NEVER Do Something Like This. We rarely bring guest speakers in. When I don’t preach on Sunday, one of our staffers takes my place. We are hesitant to schedule large scale events, since it’s hard enough to be a church without adding concert promoter to the mix. However, this speaker for this population, reflecting the emphasis we place on ministry to and with our retirement age friends, is the ideal fit.

That notion that you grab it, grab it all, grab it all at once because, really, you only live once and then when you die, that’s it … came face to face with the preoccupation with the self best represented by the selfie stick, maybe the modern invention that best describes life in the 21st Century. The invention that if people were coming to visit from an earlier era in human history & were wondering what people were like in the first couple of decades of the 21st, we’d pull it out and say, “Here. Here’s what we were like. Here’s the invention that at long last realized there’s not enough ME in the world and so we need multiple angles of ME all over the world.” read more